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This first of three installments in the 2015 Summer Donor Communication Series concentrates on how to recognize planned giving potential for your current and prospective donors. Every donor has the capability to become a planned giving donor. The key is successfully communicating your message to build that connection. But how do you organize these donors into a meaningful segmentation of your database?

American
Fundraising Professionals (AFP) presents a Planned Giving Prospect Matrix to
aid in targeting your message to the right donors:

Affinity is the measure of brand
loyalty and passion for your mission. Individuals with high affinity enjoy your
relationship and are always willing to strengthen it. Finding the wealth of
donors is the easy place to start. Measuring a donor’s brand loyalty and
willingness to give starts with an examination of a donor’s giving patters,
such as gift amounts and frequency of gifts.

Segmenting donors into this matrix
will allow you to start building the ri…

Donor centricity
means focusing on what your donors want most and how they think. It is your
decision to change your communication style to stop language that is all about
your agency and begin concentrating your messages about how wonderful and
important your donors are to your mission. Below is
a short list, and by all means not all of the ways to master donor centricity:

1. Timely Response. Make the time between donation and receipt as short as possible. The
longer it takes the more likely your donor is to think that their donation is
unimportant. 2. Appreciative and Relevant Acknowledgements. Your thank you notes need to be ‘love letters’ and should include
language that mirrors the theme of your ‘ask’ message. It should be
personalized specifically for your donor. This will encourage your donor to
give again in the future. 3. Inspire Through
Newsletters. Use your newsletter to connect your donors back to why they are
supporting you first, and then continue to let your donors know …